USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue has designated two Ohio counties as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in Athens and Hocking counties who suffered losses due to excessive rain and cold temperatures between April 23 and June 5 may be eligible for USDA Farm Service Agency emergency loans.

These natural disaster designations allow FSA to extend emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.

Producers in the contiguous Ohio counties of Fairfield, Meigs, Morgan, Perry, Pickaway, Ross, Vinton, and Washington, and in Wood County, W.Va., are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is April 28. FSA will review the loan applications based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of additional programs to help farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster.

Farmers may contact their local USDA service center for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at farmers.gov/recover.

Source: USDA FSA, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.